How can EMR systems benefit virtual physical therapy providers?

Being a physical therapist can sometimes be challenging on its own, and even more so for those who are virtual physical therapists. When you pair the challenges of physical therapy with consulting with patients in a virtual format, the result is a unique set of challenges for virtual physical therapists. Keep reading to learn what an EMR system is and the benefits of integrating this type of software system for your virtual physical therapy providers.

What exactly is an EMR system?

An electronic medical record (EMR) system is an electronic record of a patient’s medical history that is logged into a software system. The information can be updated over time. The records can be stored long term and even be digitally shared with other health care providers. The kind of information that might be included in electronic medical records includes:

• Progress notes.

• Relevant medical history.

• Medications.

• Laboratory data.

• Radiology reports.

10 benefits of EMR systems

EMR systems can be beneficial for physical therapy providers in many ways. Each of the benefits listed below can help virtual physical therapy providers manage and overcome their unique challenges. 

• Allows for quick and convenient access to documents — Using an electronic medical record system saves time for practice employees. It makes patient data and documentation significantly more accessible for virtual physical therapy providers and allows for convenient access to documents. 

• Improves document legibility — Health care providers are notorious for their “chicken scratch,” so incorporating an EMR system into a physical therapy provider’s office can greatly improve document legibility. The standardized fonts used to fill in important information make it easier for everyone to read, whether it be virtual physical therapy providers or patients.

• Improves a practice’s organization — Electronic medical record systems are great for improving a physical therapy office’s organization. With a paper filing system, it can be easy to accidentally misplace important documents or forget to dispose of outdated documentation. With an electronic system, your files won’t go missing.

• Improves interdepartmental communication — With an EMR system, health care providers have the capability of sending documentation and data to other providers like specialists, primary care physicians and laboratories.

• Increases privacy and security — Patient data is stored in a secure network called the cloud, which prevents security breaches of private patient information. Data is protected against unauthorized access and backed up in case of fires, water damage, and much more.

• Streamlines billing — The billing process becomes much easier with the help of an electronic medical record system. Billing records are all stored on computers and servers so that you don’t have to resort to a paper filing system, totals can be easily calculated, and bills can be electronically sent to patients.

• Promotes environmental sustainability — Physical document storage in the office can take up too much space, is less cost effective, and ultimately is not great for the environment. With an electronic medical record system, your practice’s carbon footprint will be significantly reduced.

• Helps ensure compliance — An EMR system can help keep your practice compliant and up to date on all the necessary policies, processes and regulations.

• Assists with scheduling and reminders — It can also provide your employees with scheduled reminders and assistance inputting details for scheduling, which can improve your practice’s organization.

• Aids with task management — These kinds of systems are typically capable of task management, which means reminders for upcoming tasks and sometimes even checklists to mark when complete. It serves as a great way to keep your practice on track.

How can the right EMR system help virtual physical therapists who are working remotely?

With the right EMR system on hand like AgileEMR, your physical therapy practice is likely to succeed. EMR systems are driving the future of outpatient physical therapy and the hospital rehabilitation sectors. Each of the benefits listed above is helpful for in-person physical therapy providers and are essential for virtual physical therapists. Virtual physical therapists can deal with a unique set of challenges including connectivity issues, long hours staring at a screen, and updated compliance and training requirements. With the help of an electronic medical records system, virtual physical therapy providers can effectively deal with these challenges by promoting workplace efficiency and productivity. Care providers can spend less time filing documentation, easily communicate with other providers, keep up with compliance regulations, manage tasks better and stay organized all at once.

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AgileEMR is a proven practice management software solution designed for therapists by therapists. We officially launched our software in 2013 to address the issues that physical therapists and clinicians often run into with generic clinical EMR systems: None of them were designed specifically with physical therapy in mind. We worked closely with physical therapists when developing our physical therapy software to ensure that it meets the demands of this unique field of health care. Since our launch, AgileEMR has been used in more than 1 million patient cases by all kinds of providers in the outpatient physical therapy and hospital rehabilitation sectors. To see our physical therapy and rehabilitation partnerships, click here.

If you’re a physical therapy provider and are looking for more information on EMR systems or the features of our product, look no further. We have the answers you need. Contact our team today for more information or to schedule a demo to see how AgileEMR can help your practice.